The chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) is typically configured as a medium to high power laser for both industrial and military applications. A COIL laser can generally produce output power on the order of about 100 kW or less to a megawatt or more. For industrial applications, COIL lasers can be used for cutting metals and other substances. In the military arena, COIL lasers are particularly useful in precision strike situations where it is desirable to minimize collateral damage. COIL lasers can be mounted on spacecraft, aircraft, ships and land-based vehicles for various military purposes, such as missile defense.
COIL lasers are conventionally fueled by reacting a basic hydrogen peroxide solution (BHP) with chlorine gas to form singlet delta oxygen (O2(1Δ)) or singlet molecular oxygen that reacts with iodine to produce photon emissions in the form of a laser beam. The conventional lasing process typically generates waste by-products, such as oxygen and a spent BHP solution that typically contains excess water and an alkali chloride (e.g. KCl, NaCl, LiCl) or the like. The spent BHP and exhaust gases are typically discarded, subject to applicable regulations for disposal of a hazardous waste. Alternatively, the waste by-products could be converted into reusable fuels by a fuel regeneration system in order to address the logistical needs of a COIL weapon system. The regeneration process entails the removal of waste products from lasing, such as KCl (salt) and water, in a form useful for the efficient production of the consumed chemicals (i.e., potassium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide and chlorine).
Removal of the water waste product can be achieved through vacuum distillation, but this process is generally not desirable for mobile or transportable applications such as military weapon systems, because it tends to be energy-intensive and typically requires large equipment. An alternative process that would generally be more compact and energy efficient involves the freezing of ice from the spent BHP, but this process tends to generate a product excessively contaminated with BHP chemicals. In order to purify this type of contaminated product, conventional techniques typically include washing, preferably with water. Washing with water, however, is generally impractical for this application due to the extremely low BHP/ice temperature, which is typically in the approximate range of −20 to −50 degrees Celsius, and would cause freeze-up of an aqueous wash fluid. Alternative washing fluids, such as non-aqueous solvents have generally proven relatively ineffective in achieving the desired product purity. As such, the overall efficiency of a fuel regeneration system is typically reduced due to BHP contamination, which tends to increase the size, weight and cost of a COIL fuel regeneration system.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus for purifying contaminated ice from spent BHP without the risk of wash freeze-up. In addition, it is desirable to provide a purifying method and apparatus that is both compact and energy efficient. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.